Housing for service families
7th October 2007 - Andrew McLean
Dr Sue Farrant, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for West Dorset, has been asked to contribute to an investigation into service personnel’s welfare issues. The work is being led by Nick Harvey, MP for North Devon and the Lib Dem Shadow Defence Secretary.
Sue, once an Army officer herself, has been a specialist in housing management for fifteen years. She told the recent Liberal Democrat Conference in Brighton about the very poor conditions she had seen at first hand when she led a review of service family housing in Germany, Gibraltar and Cyprus in 2004.
“Many service families overseas are living in conditions which would be considered totally unacceptable by any council or housing association tenant in this country,” she said during a debate on successive governments’ failure to honour the Military Covenant. “Commanding officers told me of their anger about highly skilled, highly trained men and women leaving the service because they could no longer put up with their spouses and children living in inadequate housing. What an appalling waste. What an appalling injustice.”
Sue also attended an event run by the Royal British Legion to publicise their “Honour the Covenant” campaign. “It is very sad that a campaign like this is necessary,” she said, “But I urge people to support the Royal British Legion in its efforts to get a fair deal for the people who risk their lives on behalf of the rest of us.” The Legion’s campaign website can be found at www.thecovenant.org.uk.
